NatChurch / chapel · 1830–1850Saint Senan's Catholic ChurchToler Street, KilrushPhoto: Ryan L123 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
Cappagh Pier · Photo: Sfinucan · CC BY-SA 4.019buildings on the National Inventory
History of Kilrush · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Kilrush has 19 buildings on the National Inventory, one of them of national importance
Old homes stand out in Kilrush: 14% were built before 1919, where the typical town has 3.4%. Its oldest building dates from 1780. The Sites and Monuments Record adds 1 archaeological site inside the town. Kilrush has 72 buildings on the record for every 10,000 residents, against 48 in the typical town.
On the National Inventory
19
72 per 10,000 residents
typical town: 48
typical town: 48
Of national importance
1
NIAH National or International, and national monuments
Archaeological sites
1
Sites and Monuments Record
Oldest building
1780
the first date on its record
Homes built before 1919
14%
typical town: 3.4%
In pictures
1 old views and 5 photos of Kilrush
Of the buildings pictured in Kilrush, Cappagh Pier is the oldest, from 1800. There are photos of 3 of Kilrush’s recorded places so far. From 1903 come the old photographs of Kilrush.
Saint Senan's Catholic ChurchNational rating (NIAH)
Kilrush Market HouseRegional rating (NIAH)
Mausoleum, Saint Senan's Church (Kilrush)Regional rating (NIAH)
Saint Senan's Church (Kilrush)Regional rating (NIAH)+1See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the place’s page. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Through time
Kilrush in old photos
1 old photograph, made before 1950.
1903From Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server: public domain, or from the National Library of Ireland’s collections (Lawrence, Poole, Eason and others) with no known copyright restrictions. Each credit opens the image’s page.
The map
Where Kilrush’s history is
Every building and site on the record inside the town, by its rating.
National and InternationalRegional and other sites
Hover a dot for its name; tap one to open its page.
The 19, by rating
1 National and International18 Regional and other sites
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage is the State’s survey of buildings from 1700 to today, county by county; each record gives a rating, dates, a type and an appraisal. Being on it is not legal protection: that is each council’s Record of Protected Structures.
Points from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage and the Sites and Monuments Record, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (CC BY 4.0).
National and International
One place of national importance in Kilrush
Buildings the National Inventory rates National or International: of significance across Ireland or beyond. Each one opens its own page.
Regional and other sites
18 more historic places in Kilrush
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 13, A to Z
5 recorded by their type and address
5 are recorded only by their type and address: 2 public buildings, 2 mills, stations and works and 1 homes; most date from the 18th century.
18th century2
19th century2
20th century1
What’s recorded
Kilrush’s record leans to homes: 32%
The next biggest group is mills, stations and works, 4 in all. Across the National Inventory, homes are 62% of the record, above Kilrush’s share. Among the highest-rated: Saint Senan's Catholic Church and The Fort.
Homes6
Mills, stations and works4
Public buildings4
Churches and chapels2
Walls, gates and bridges1
Memorials and tombs1
Inns, shops and warehouses1
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
How old
Most of Kilrush’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
1500–1799 three centuries4
19th century 1800–189912
1900 and later to today3
4 of the 19 dated ones were built before 1800. The oldest is The Fort, from 1780.
Archaeology and around
Archaeology in Kilrush
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
1 archaeological site inside the town
Sites on the Record of Monuments and Places, the statutory list drawn from this record, are protected by law: anyone planning work at or near one must give the National Monuments Service two months’ notice.
| House - 18th/19th century1 record |
Just outside Kilrush: 4
| Scattery IslandNational monument to visit · 1.8 km outside the town |
| Kilrush House (gate lodge)Regional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Saint Senan's Church (Kilrush)Regional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Mausoleum, Saint Senan's Church (Kilrush)Regional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
Homes by age
Little new building in Kilrush: 2.2% of homes date from 2011 on, against 5.8%
Homes built between the wars make up 14% of Kilrush’s, against 3.9% in the typical town. The largest single period is from 1946 to 1980, with 28% of Kilrush’s homes. Only 18% of Kilrush’s homes were built in the 2000s, less than the typical town’s 25%.
14%
Before 1919
14%
1919–45
28%
1946–80
24%
1981–2000
18%
2001–10
2.2%
Since 2011
KilrushTypical town
Census 2022, households by the year their home was built (CSO, Small Area Population Statistics, CC BY 4.0); the typical town is the middle Irish town of 2,500 or more.
Born here
4 notable people born in Kilrush before 1900
From Sir John Ormsby Vandeleur (1763) to Michael Joseph Bulger (1867): their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
Sir John Ormsby Vandeleur
Thomas A. Cullinan
Thomas Cusack
Michael Joseph Bulger
175017751800182518501875190019251950
Sir John Ormsby Vandeleur1763–1849 · British commander in the Napoleonic Wars
Thomas Cusack1858–1926 · American politician
MB
Michael Joseph Bulger1867–1938 · Irish rugby player, athlete and medical doctor
Thomas A. Cullinan1838–1904 · US Marshal
Everyone born in Kilrush → Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s English Wikipedia article; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Neighbours
Kilrush and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kilrush | 2,649 | 19 | 1 | 1 |
| Kilkee | 1,214 | 15 | 0 | 16 |
| Ballybunion | 1,618 | 20 | 0 | 8 |
In brief
Kilrush in brief
More of Kilrush’s homes are old than in most places: 14% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. All told, the list holds 19 places on the record, 1 of them in the top tier, including Saint Senan's Catholic Church. Most of its dated monuments come from the 19th century: 12 of 19. The oldest, The Fort, dates from 1780.
Sir John Ormsby Vandeleur (1763), Thomas Cusack (1858) and Michael Joseph Bulger (1867) are among the 4 people born here before 1900. The rest is about typical: it has 19 recorded buildings, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 20); per resident it sits near the middle of Irish towns of 2,500 or more; and it also has an archaeological site.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The National Inventory. The State’s survey of post-1700 buildings, made county by county since 1990 (NIAH); a few records are older. It records; it does not protect.
- Ratings. International and National: of significance across Ireland or beyond. Regional: in its region. Local and record-only buildings get no page here.
- Archaeology. The Sites and Monuments Record (National Monuments Service) lists known archaeological sites; the national monuments to visit and the sites with an encyclopedia article get pages here.
- Protection. Both registers are surveys, not protection: a building is protected by its council’s Record of Protected Structures, and no national open list joins the 31 councils’ records.
- The grade. Ireland’s History grade is not built yet: the page describes, and gives no grade.
Questions about Kilrush’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Kilrush?
19 buildings on the National Inventory, one of them of national importance, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Which places in Kilrush are of national importance?
Saint Senan's Catholic Church.
What is the oldest building in Kilrush?
Mill (water), Frances Street, Hector Street, Kilrush: the first date on its record is 1780.
Are there archaeological sites in Kilrush?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 1 archaeological site inside Kilrush.
How old are the homes in Kilrush?
14% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town.
Are the buildings on this page protected?
Being on the National Inventory or the Sites and Monuments Record is a record, not protection by itself: buildings are protected by their council’s Record of Protected Structures, which each council keeps and no national open list gathers, so this page can’t say which are on it.
This page describes its history; it gives no grade.
Source: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage and Sites and Monuments Record, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (CC BY 4.0); Wikidata (CC0).
Sources: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (buildingsofireland.ie) · Sites and Monuments Record and the National Monuments Service’s monuments to visit · CSO Census 2022 (homes by the year built) · Photos: Wikimedia Commons, including the National Library of Ireland’s collections, each credited with its licence and copied to our own server · Wikidata and English Wikipedia for people born here · Wikidata (CC0) for other names and articles. Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).